Keywords

Contents

The aim of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of the
epiphytic bryophyte vegetation of the Canary Islands. Especially the
Canarian laurel forests are rich in epiphytic mosses and
liverworts. The phytosociology and ecology of these organisms are
fairly unknown. For first time the epiphytic bryophyte flora and
vegetation was studied in respect to the microcli- mate and the
different types of Canary forests along an altitudinal gradient. Based
on a phy- tosociological analysis, the morphological and anatomical
traits, the life strategies, and the phytogeographical relationships
of the epiphytic taxa have been investigated.
The study area comprises the four western Canary Islands Tenerife, La
Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro.
The different methods applied in field and in laboratory are explained
in chapter 3.
The synsystematic and syntaxonomic study reveals the ocurrence of
eleven epiphytic bryophyte communities with several subassociations,
which proved to be well differentiated by floristic composition,
ecology, altitudinal zonation, forest formation and substrate
specifity. 14 units are newly described.